Rabu, 18 Disember 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Live-streamed food porn gluttony trends out of South Korea

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 05:22 PM PST

December 19, 2013

The Diva, one of the most popular food porn broadcast jockeys in South Korea. - AFP/Relaxnews pic, December 19, 2013.Combine the elements of competitive food eating, voyeurism and online porn and you turn the banal act of eating into marathon live-streamed video that has become a growing trend out of South Korea.

Toss in a small-boned, attractive woman with a bottomless pit of a stomach and the appetite of a football quarterback and you get "meok-bang", the latest online fad to hit the web in South Korea, in which viewers tune in to regular people eating obscene amounts of food for hours, reports Kotaku, a gaming website that also tracks digital trends in Asia.

The word "meok-bang" is a mash-up of the Korean words for eating (meok-guh) and broadcast (bang song).

Heading the trend is a woman known as The Diva, a perky, young South Korean who works at a consulting agency by day, and turns into a "broadcast jockey" at night, shovelling an impressively large amount of food into her stomach, says Kotaku.

In one sitting, she'll throw back 35 eggs, a box of crab legs, or five packs of instant noodles.

And when she's really hungry, she'll pack down 12 hamburger beef patties, 12 fried eggs, three servings of spicy kimchi stew, and a green salad – for a balanced meal.

Streamed on a peer-to-peer online video network called Afreeca TV, the medium allows viewers to make donations to their favorite online personalities by way of a virtual currency called Star Balloons, that can be turned into real-world money.

And it's thanks to the crowd-sourced funding that The Diva has been able to subsidise her incredible eating habits, which cost her about $3,000 (RM9,700) a month, Kotaku reports.

Since beginning her show, The Diva says she's put on 9kg – minimal given the thousands of calories consumed every night. Her marathon eating sessions will begin at around 8pm and last for around two hours.

And to answer allegations of purging, The Diva will also sit around answering fan questions and discussing food for another two hours after her meal, to allow the food to digest.

Meanwhile, social commentators and pundits theorise that the popularity of these marathon eating shows are more than just a strange fascination with pretty people eating, but the desire not to eat alone.

Writes Kotaku: "Watching The Diva's broadcasts is a bit like going to dinner with someone – and bringing the entire internet." - AFP/Relaxnews, December 19, 2013.

Live-streamed food porn gluttony trends out of South Korea

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 05:22 PM PST

December 19, 2013

The word "meok-bang" is a mash-up of the Korean words for eating (meok-guh) and broadcast (bang song).

In one sitting, she'll throw back 35 eggs, a box of crab legs, or five packs of instant noodles.

And when she's really hungry, she'll pack down 12 hamburger beef patties, 12 fried eggs, three servings of spicy kimchi stew, and a green salad – for a balanced meal.

And it's thanks to the crowd-sourced funding that The Diva has been able to subsidise her incredible eating habits, which cost her about $3,000 (RM9,700) a month, Kotaku reports.

And to answer allegations of purging, The Diva will also sit around answering fan questions and discussing food for another two hours after her meal, to allow the food to digest.

Writes Kotaku: "Watching The Diva's broadcasts is a bit like going to dinner with someone – and bringing the entire internet." - AFP/Relaxnews, December 19, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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Nauraj Singh maintains Malaysia’s dominance in SEA Games high jump

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:26 AM PST

December 18, 2013

Nauraj Singh Randhawa ensured Malaysia's dominance in SEA Games men's high jump after soaring over the bar and his opponents to win the gold medal at the Wunna Theikdi Main Stadium today.

Malaysia has dominated the men's high jump in the SEA Games since 1977 with the likes of Baljit Singh, Ramjit Nairu, S. Kesavan, Lou Cwee Peng, Loo Kum Zee and Lee Hup Wei.

Nauraj who cleared 2.17m for the win, not only won the gold medal, but also repaid the faith the Malaysian Athletics Union (MAU) had in him since he was chosen over the more experienced Hup Wei, despite pressure from the sports authorities in the country.

The lanky Nauraj, making his debut in the SEA Games, showed no signs of wilting under pressure by soaring over heights of 2.05m, 2.13m and 2.17m with ease.

The Johorean, who will turn 22 on January 27, hardly faced any strong challenge from seven other competitors to win the event in the absence of former Asian champion and three-time gold medallist Lee Hup Wei, who did not qualify for the
Games.

His closest challengers Van Thuy Dao from Vietnam and Thailand's Pramote Pumurai could only clear 2.13m, but Thuy Dao was awarded the silver on countback.

Nauraj said after securing the gold, he attempted to break the SEA Games record of 2.24m held by Loo Kum Zee and set in Chiangmai during the 1995 SEA Games, although he has never jumped higher than 2.20m.

However, his three attempts at 2.25m were not successful.

"With the gold already mine, my coach Alim Ahemdjoun told me to go for 2.25m to break the SEA Games record of 2.24m (held by Malaysia's Loo Kum Zee since the 1995 Chiang Mai Games)," said Navraj, who is pursuing a degree in sports science
at Universiti Malaya.

Meanwhile, another Malaysian S. Navinraj, who is featuring in his second SEA Games, finished fifth with a height of 2.09m.

The gold won today was the third from the athletics team after Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin (men's discus) and Mohd Jironi Riduan (men's 800m).

Apart from Nauraj's feat, the rest of the athletics squad performed below par, except sprinter Harith Ammar Mohd Sobri who raced to the silver medal in the men's 200m with a time of 21.46s.

The race was won by Meenapra Jirapong with a time of 21.29s, while another Malaysian sprinter Mohd Shahmimi Azmi finished 7th with a time of 21.72s, while S. Komalam Shally finished sixth in her 200m race after clocking 24.95s.

The women's 200m race was won by Vu Thi Huong from Vietnam with a time of 23.55s, while Thailand's Klomdee Neeranuch took the silver with a time of 24.02s. - Bernama, December 18, 2013.

Malaysia beat Singapore to make men’s hockey final, may meet Singapore again

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST

December 18, 2013

Malaysian hockey boys lived up to their top billing by marching into the final of the 27th Myanmar SEA Games hockey competition after beating Singapore 6-0 at the Theinphyu Hockey Stadium today.

Malaysia, the favourite to win the gold medal, managed to book their berth in the final with a match to spare as they play Myanmar to complete their preliminary fixtures.

The win today ensured that Malaysia remained unbeaten in the competition.

In today's match, Singapore put up a strong resistance at the start of the match, but once Dangerous Lee Mathew managed to score the opening goal in the 19th minute, the causeway neighbours started to wilt, allowing Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil to add the second, before Dangerous Lee made it 3-0 with his second of the match.

Malaysia who seemed more cautious at the start of the second half, had to wait until the 52nd minute to make it 4-0 through Dedy Junaidi Jumaiti while Amir Farid Ahmad Fauzi (63rd min) and Muhammad Ramdan Rosli (70th min) completed the rout.

For goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin and Norhizzat Sumantri who celebrated their 35th and 22nd birthdays today, the win was sweeter.

Coach Tai Beng Hai, when met after the match, said he was happy with the performance of his boys and their consistency.

"We came here to win the gold and our mission is not over yet. We have one more match and we need to be consistent," he said.

Malaysia will face either Singapore or Thailand in the final. - Bernama, December 18, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Saudi expulsions leave broken dreams in Africa and Asia

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 03:21 AM PST

December 18, 2013

Foreign labourers work at the construction site of a building in Riyadh November 27, 2013. Economists say the reforms that prompted Saudi Arabia's tough new policy on foreign workers are needed to restructure an economy skewed towards cheap imported labour and address a long term challenge of youth unemployment. – Reuters pic, December 18, 2013. More than a million people from across the world – managers, maids, accountants and labourers – have left Saudi Arabia since March, after years or even decades working in the Gulf Arab state, which sustains its own citizens with oil revenues.

Around 120,000 Ethiopians have been deported in the past month alone as part of a visa crackdown aimed at pushing more Saudis into employment to ensure future political and economic stability.

"We were kicked out of our homes and our jobs," said Mohamed Ahmed, 27, waiting with thousands of other Ethiopians at a transit centre behind Addis Ababa's Bole Airport after disembarking with a few bags from Saudi Arabian Airlines jets.

Like many others, Ahmed, who spent five years in Saudi Arabia after crossing the Red Sea in a fishing boat and trekking through turbulent Yemen, had to leave at short notice.

"We left all our belongings there," he said.

Saudi Arabia avoided significant unrest during the Arab Spring pro-democracy protest wave in 2011, but its leaders were uncomfortably aware that entrenched unemployment was a big factor behind rebellions in other Arab states.

Cheap labour from 10 million foreigners in the country hampered previous government efforts to persuade the private sector to employ some of the 20 million locals.

Many of those who have left were illegal immigrants like Ahmed, who crossed the kingdom's porous borders or stayed on after the haj pilgrimage, which attracts around 2 million foreign visitors to Mecca every year.

Many others came to Saudi Arabia legally then fell foul of rigid visa rules, which require all expatriates to work for a single employer in a field specified on their residence permit and are often used to exploit migrants.

Extortion

Mohammed Yunus, 27, was brought to Saudi Arabia by an employment agency to work at a hotel after taking loans to travel to the kingdom, but was soon told to leave his job.

His sponsor then demanded $1,867 (RM6,079) a year to sign off on his visa papers while he found odd jobs on building sites and in grocery shops to pay his debts. Such tales of extortion are common among low-paid workers in the country.

"I am trying to get back to Saudi. There's no way I can repay my debts by working in India," said Yunus, who worked in Saudi Arabia for five years before leaving during an amnesty declared in March to encourage expatriates to head home without paying fines for violating residency rules.

The government said about 4 million people changed their visas to stay in the country, while another million left during the amnesty and can apply for new visas in future.

When it ended in early November, forcible deportations began. Authorities raided shops, offices, marketplaces and streets in low-income areas, checking residence permits.

The Labour Ministry has said it will set up new tribunals to hear expatriates' complaints about their sponsors, but it has no plans to change the sponsorship system itself, something even a Saudi government-affiliated rights group recommends.

"Smear campaign"

International migration and rights groups have acknowledged Saudi Arabia's right to deport visa violators and change its employment rules to favour locals, but are critical of the way the crackdown has been carried out.

Deportees returning to Yemen and Ethiopia have reported ill treatment, including physical abuse and poor conditions at holding centres before they were expelled, the International Organization of Migration, an international agency, said.

When millions rushed to rectify minor visa infringements earlier this summer, government departments appeared unprepared, causing vast numbers of people to queue in temperatures of 40 celsius, some for more than 24 hours.

The government has dismissed allegations of abuse and chaotic policymaking as a foreign "smear campaign", saying it welcomed expatriates who abide by the rules, and that 250,000 Saudis have gained jobs as a result of its crackdown.

The human impact of making way for them has reverberated across the world. In Yemen, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Indonesia and India, politicians have voiced concern about the fate of their citizens in the kingdom. Egypt, Sri Lanka and the Philippines are all affected too.

"I'm going back with literally nothing. All that I earned here has been spent on raising my children," said Abdul Kareem Shamshudeen, 53, who returned to the Indian state of Kerala last week after illegally doing odd jobs in shops for 20 years.

The impact has even been felt in other wealthy oil-exporting Gulf nations, which also have large expatriate populations and where many of those leaving Saudi Arabia now want to seek work - including Yunus, if he cannot go back.

"I'm always hopeful there will be another chance," he said.

Although official unemployment among Saudis is around 12%, economists estimate up to two thirds are not in the labour force. Those who do work mostly have government jobs, the absolute monarchy's way of spreading oil wealth and buying social peace, and tend to support large extended families.

While the world's top exporter now enjoys large surpluses, economists say a rising population and growing domestic energy consumption mean the burden of creating work must move to the private sector for the economy to continue to thrive.

Riots and deportation

The cost for many migrant workers has been high. In the poor south Riyadh neighbourhood of Manfouha, an Ethiopian man was killed in a confrontation with police during a visa raid. Days later, local anger spilled into clashes between Ethiopian migrants, riot police and some Saudis, leaving three dead.

Ahmed, the returnee to Addis Ababa, said gangs of Saudis attacked Ethiopians and raped Ethiopian women. Saudis said Ethiopians had started the riot, rampaging through Manfouha with knives and sticks.

"I gave myself up. I was afraid of getting killed," he said.

For the millions of expatriates remaining in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are still thought to be in breach of residency laws, the crackdown inspires gallows humour.

A comic song called Ja Jawazat, "Passport department is coming", has attracted a million views on YouTube. Faez Choudhary, a Pakistani national who wrote the song, was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and works at a Riyadh shopping mall.

"I want to help other expatriates, especially those born here, understand this is our country as well," he said.

"I myself feel like a Saudi, sometimes." – Reuters, December 18, 2013.

The kindest cut – Malaysian charity styles the homeless

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:08 PM PST

December 18, 2013

This photo taken on November 13, 2013 shows stylist Azmina Burhan (left) cutting the hair of a homeless person in downtown Kuala Lumpur. - AFP pic, December 18, 2013.Homeless Kuala Lumpur resident Indera Abha struggles to eke out a meagre existence by selling salvaged recyclables, so personal appearance concerns understandably take a back seat.

But a Malaysian charity that offers free haircuts along with meals helps him to salvage some pride as well.

"I like to get my hair cut. I feel good, and it is free," Indera, 49, said with a smile missing several teeth, as strands of his thin black hair float to the ground around him.

Wielding the scissors is stylist Azmina Burhan, who runs her own salon but volunteers with the Pertiwi Soup Kitchen to provide for an often-overlooked homeless need.

"To me, how people look is very important. You want to look good every day when you wake up, no matter how rich you are, how poor you are," said the bubbly 26-year-old.

Azmina joined the charity shortly after its establishment in 2010, helping to give out food and water several times a week.

But after encountering hundreds of homeless who couldn't afford proper cuts, she started bringing along her scissors, apron and a small stool about once every other month.

Each time, she now gives up to 30 haircuts, and growing.

"After you finish getting a haircut you look good, you feel good, and you have that self-confidence in you," she said, adding that a cleaned-up appearance could help people to secure jobs.

For Azmina, the task can mean handling dirty, matted hair. The worst, she said, was a man who slept on the streets and hadn't washed his hair for months, leaving her hands blackened with dust.

But she has never turned anyone away and said the image of smelly, lice-infested homeless is false and is the sort of stereotype that her haircuts are aimed at eliminating.

In fact, her "customers" can be quite trendy, especially younger ones, and common requests include British football star David Beckham's hairstyles and the longer fringes favoured by Korean and Japanese pop icons.

Malaysian living standards have vaulted steadily upward thanks to decades of strong economic growth, but Southeast Asia's third-largest economy is not immune to privation, and income disparity has widened.

Pertiwi says Kuala Lumpur and its outskirts have an estimated 1,800 homeless. Government officials did not respond to an AFP request for figures.

Pertiwi feeds up to 700 people four times a week, pulling up with a food-loaded van in three of Kuala Lumpur's poorer areas. Volunteer medics also provide check-ups and medicine.

"I didn't realise it was going to be this big," said Munirah Hamid, head of Pertiwi, who said the crowds of needy are growing.

Azmina is now looking to enlist another volunteer hair-dresser to meet the demands of homeless people like Paul Chin, who lives on the street after he lost his job at a car-wash several months ago.

"It's very annoying," Chin said shyly of the overgrown shock of greying hair crowning his head as he settled onto Azmina's stool.

But by the time Azmina's scissors stopped snipping, someone waiting in line shouted out "He's a new man!"

"Now I feel good," Chin said, running his hands over his newly trimmed top before disappearing among the crowds of needy. - AFP, December 18, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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Filipina crowned Miss International in Japan

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 08:02 PM PST

December 18, 2013

Miss International Bea Rose Santiago of the Philippines waves on stage after being crowned Miss International Beauty Pageant 2013 in Tokyo, yesterday. - Reuters pic, December 18, 2013.A Philippine beauty queen has been crowned Miss International in a pageant marred by allegations of intimidation that kept her predecessor away – pledging to use her title to help victims of the country's devastating typhoon.

"This is my dream. Thank you Japan for giving it to me," an ecstatic Bea Rose Santiago said at the event, held late yesterday in Tokyo.

"I'm going to use my crown and my title to help the victims" of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which raked the Philippines last month, leaving nearly 8,000 people dead or missing.

"So this is actually for my province, and this is for the Philippines."

Santiago was selected from among 67 candidates representing countries and regions of the world.

In a break with pageant custom, she was crowned by Spain's 2008 Miss International and not by her immediate predecessor, who stayed away from the glitzy show.

"I really wanted to meet her," the new beauty queen said. "It was very unfortunate because I really wanted to meet last year's winner also."

Outgoing title-holder Japanese Ikumi Yoshimatsu told foreign journalists this week in Tokyo that she had been asked by organisers to stay away from the final.

Yoshimatsu said since winning she has faced a running battle to maintain her independence from the management agencies that form the backbone of Japan's entertainment industry.

She said a senior executive at one agency had been in touch with her on many occasions. After she had repeatedly rebuffed him, he telephoned the main sponsor of the Miss International competition, she said.

As a result, the Miss International office in Tokyo began "instructing me, to 'play sick', 'keep quiet' and not to attend the world final pageant here in Tokyo... to pass on my crown to my successor," she said.

The organiser of the beauty pageant, Tokyo-based International Culture Association, did not return calls made by AFP.

A local tabloid magazine has reported the executive of the management agency denying he was carrying out any campaign of harassment, saying that he was involved in a separate dispute with Yoshimatsu's agent over money. - AFP, December 18, 2013.

‘Anchorman 2’ revives cult classic, but has Ron Burgundy sold out?

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:55 PM PST

December 18, 2013

Actor Will Ferrell speaks while being interviewed at the Newseum during an event for 'Anchorman2: The Legend Continues' in Washington, December 3, 2013. - Reuters pic, December 18, 2013.He's in your fridge, on your bookshelf and taking over your television screen. But as "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" brings back a cult comedy classic, has fictional leading man Ron Burgundy sold out?

The answer is "yes". Even the director said so.

In anticipation of the opening of "Anchorman 2" in US theatres today, the chauvinistic San Diego anchorman, played by comedian Will Ferrell, has promoted Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dodge Durangos, written a memoir, anchored the news in North Dakota, and served as roving reporter for the MTV Video Music Awards. And that's just a short list of his stints.

His invasion of the mass market prompted some grumbling among die-hard fans across social networks: Ron Burgundy had become too mainstream, they said, and less likable to the niche audience of the first film.

"Ron Burgundy is a sellout," Adam McKay, the film's writer-director, told Reuters. "The whole joke of the character is that he is a complete and total sellout, so it makes us laugh to see him doing the news and selling cars."

McKay said the cult thing is over for the second film, which is a much more lavishly promoted release than the July 2004 film about the 1970s anchorman. Made by Paramount Pictures for a budget of $50 million (RM162 million), "Anchorman 2" could earn $55 million over its first five days, estimated Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co.

"Anchorman 2" picks up the story of the suit-clad and mustachioed Ron Burgundy, described as "more man than the rest", a decade after the first film, when he has been reduced to becoming an alcoholic SeaWorld announcer after losing his anchor job to his now estranged wife, Veronica Corningstone.

By a stroke of luck, Ron Burgundy is scouted for a new global news cable channel, and reunited with his news team - played by Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner - as they take on New York City's world of broadcast news, and unknowingly usher in a new era of news known as "infotainment".

"American news has become really driven by ratings and entertainment. I think people working in broadcast news would even agree with that," said McKay, who directed the first "Anchorman" film and co-wrote it with Ferrell. "So the idea of making all of that Ron Burgundy's fault was too funny to pass up."

After the first film's jokes became quotable fodder for fans, McKay and Ferrell had to find new material for the beloved characters. They excluded a number of pop-culture touchstones such as Ron Burgundy's sign-off, "You stay classy, San Diego."

A few touches of homage, including Ron Burgundy's jazz flute and Brian Fantana's "Sex Panther" cologne, make brief appearances, as well as a second round of the news gang fight, featuring cameos from some comedy greats who the writers wanted to keep a surprise.

"For a percentage of people, it'll never measure up to the first one. But we wanted to take a big swing, not be timid, and create a movie that continues to surprise," said Ferrell, a co-writer of the film.

In "Anchorman 2", Burgundy once again rises to the top, but faces obstacles both in his personal and professional life, as he dates his black female boss (Meagan Good), faces off with a younger, more handsome anchorman (James Marsden), tries to be fatherly toward his son, and loses his eyesight. McKay compared his journey to that of the hero in a Greek tragedy.

"The whole legend of Ron Burgundy is all about rising and falling, so we had to think of some crazy way for him to fall again, and the idea of him going blind just really made us laugh," said McKay, whose friendship with Ferrell goes back to the mid-1990s, when Ferrell joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" and McKay was a writer on the show.

The first "Anchorman" film was made for $25 million and distributed by DreamWorks. It featured a cast of comedians who were rising stars, including Ferrell and Carell, and grossed $90 million at the worldwide box office. The second film reunited the original cast and turned a bigger spotlight on Carell's Brick Tamland, a weatherman with a very low IQ, who won over fans with strange and nonsensical phrases such as "I love lamp", and who finds love with a quirky, eccentric character played by Kristen Wiig.

"Steve Carell is so great to work with that it just seemed natural to amp him up, and the love affair was really the key idea to understanding him," McKay said.

While McKay and Ferrell are both anxiously awaiting how audiences respond to "Anchorman 2", Ferrell already has some ideas about how he'd like to see the characters evolve, if a third film becomes a reality.

"Watching Ron and the news team decide to buy a newspaper and think they can bring it back to life, and them dealing with print - that's considered the purest form of journalism. That could be a funny world for them," Ferrell said. - Reuters, December 18, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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Zlatan author to write ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ trilogy sequel

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:04 PM PST

December 18, 2013

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson. - AFP/Relaxnews pic, December 18, 2013.Stieg Larsson's blockbuster "Millennium" trilogy of thrillers is to be given a sequel written by Swedish author David Lagercrantz, Swedish publisher Norstedts said yesterday.

The books by the late author have sold more than 75 million copies in 50 countries, with the first, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", being made into a Hollywood film with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara in 2011.

The publishers were tight-lipped about where the story would take the main characters - investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed young hacker Lisbeth Salander - and would only say that they would return in the book, due for release in August 2015.

Lagercrantz co-authored the autobiography of Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, "I am Zlatan", which was released in 2011.

"Obviously we are hugely excited," Norstedts Managing Director Eva Gedin told Reuters. "We believe we have found a quite superb author for this project."

Larsson's books became a sensation after the first one was published in mid-2005, with the Swedish title "Men Who Hate Women", which became "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" when it was later published in English.

The two other books, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest" completed the best-selling trilogy.

Larsson died from a heart attack in 2004. - Reuters, December 18, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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Pulau Pinang umum dana perumahan RM500 juta

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:29 AM PST

December 18, 2013

Kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang telah menubuhkan Dana Perumahan Awam dan Mampu Milik sebanyak RM500 juta untuk membina rumah di negeri ini. Ia membolehkan rakyat yang gagal untuk membuat pinjaman 100% daripada bank untuk mendapatkan pinjaman tanpa faedah sebanyak 30% daripada kerajaan negeri.

Dalam kenyataan media hari ini, Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng (gambar) berkata, "Peraturan baru ini dapat mengelakkan gelembung hartanah dan memastikan rakyat berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana mampu membeli perumahan awam."

Bagaimanapun, semua rumah kos rendah dan sederhana yang dibeli di bawah skim tersebut tidak boleh dijual dalam tempoh 10 tahun daripada tarikh perjanjian jual beli.

Rumah mampu milik pula, yang dibeli di bawah harga RM400,000 di pulau dan RM250,000 di Seberang Perai hanya boleh dijual selepas tempoh lima tahun perjanjian jual beli.

Bagi warganegara luar pula, Lim menambah, "Bukan warganegara hanya boleh membeli hartanah di Pulau Pinang yang melebihi RM1 juta dan bagi tanah serta bangunan di pulau mesti melebihi RM2 juta."

Pengecualian diberikan kepada pembelian bagi tujuan industri atau tujuan untuk menggalakkan peluang pekerjaan, pendidikan, bakat manusia atau mempromosikan Pulau Pinang sebagai bandaraya bertaraf antarabangsa dan pintar.
Peraturan perumahan baru ini juga bakal mengenakan bayaran sebanyak 2% bagi hartanah yang dibeli selepas tarikh penguatkuasaan.

Lim juga mengatakan, kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang mahu mencapai demokrasi perumahan di mana setiap keluarga di negeri itu mampu memiliki rumah sendiri.

Kerajaan Pulau Pinang juga bersedia menerima sebarang kritikan terhadap peraturan perumahan baru tersebut. – 18 Disember, 2013.

Negeri Sembilan kaji kenaikan elaun Adun

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:06 AM PST

December 18, 2013

Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan akan mengkaji sama ada akan menaikkan kadar elaun Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri (Aun), kata Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (gambar).

Beliau berkata, sudah terlalu lama Adun di negeri ini menerima elaun pada kadar sekarang berjumlah RM5562 tanpa kenaikan.

"Seingat saya sejak saya menjadi Menteri Besar tidak ada kenaikan, ini sudah lebih 10 tahun, oleh itu kajian akan dibuat.

"Jika ada keperluan untuk menaikkan kadar elaun itu kita akan buat tapi bukan untuk bagi tinggi macam sesetengah negeri yang lain," katanya dalam sidang media selepas mesyuarat exco kerajaan negeri di sini hari ini.

Dalam pada itu, Mohamad berkata orang ramai perlu berhati-hati dengan sebarang tawaran oleh pihak tertentu bagi mendapatkan pingat dan darjah kebesaran sempena hari keputeraan Yang Dipertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, 14 Januari depan.

Katanya, terdapat segelintir individu yang terpedaya dengan tawaran pihak tertentu yang kononnya boleh mendapatkan anugerah darjah kebesaran dan pingat.

Sementara itu, beliau berkata memandangkan hari keputeraan Tuanku Muhriz jatuh pada hari yang sama dengan sambutan Maulidur Rasul, maka kerajaan negeri memutuskan keesokan harinya iaitu 15 Januari sebagai cuti umum ganti. - Bernama, 18 Disember, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan sudah tidak relevan

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:53 PM PST

December 18, 2013

Dinsman atau nama sebenarnya Che Samsudin Othman adalah budayawan, penulis dan sastrawan. Beliau menulis untuk kepuasan dan kebebasan berkarya.

42 tahun berlalu sejak Malaysia pernah mengadakan Kongres Kebudayaan Kebangsaan pada 1971, dianjurkan sendiri oleh Kementerian Kebudayaan (Belia dan Sukan) waktu itu. 42 tahun suatu tempoh yang sangat panjang, untuk kita tidak mempedulikan apa-apa rumusan yang dicapai dalam kongres tersebut, walau apa pun alasannya.

Memang, apa yang dikatakan Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan itu hanyalah sebuah rumusan oleh kongres tersebut. Ia tidak pernah dibawa untuk diluluskan oleh Parlimen. Tetapi itulah saja yang kita ada dan dan rumusan atau dasar itu diterima dan diguna pakai oleh kerajaan, badan-badan bukan kerajaan, tokoh-tokoh budaya dan ilmuwan serta masyarakat umum selama beberapa tahun selepas kongres 1971 itu.

Selama beberapa tahun dalam dekad 1970-an itu khasnya, kita selalu merujuk kepada Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan itu, dan kita masih menganggapnya penting, seperti kita juga menganggap penting soal indentiti sebagai suatu bangsa yang berbudaya dan bertamadun sendiri, berteraskan Islam. Tetapi mulai dekad 1980-an, khasnya sejak pentadbiran Dr Mahathir yang mengajar orang Melayu supaya mementingkan pencapaian ekonomi dan material, masyarakat kita pun sedikit demi sedikit mula melupakan perkara kebudayaan dan identiti warisan.

Ada orang menganggap ini sebagai akibat daripada sikap dan pemikiran 'liberal' yang dibawa oleh kepimpinan Dr Mahathir. Mungkin betul anggapan itu. Saya masih ingat lagi seminar eksklusif Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah dengan kertasnya "Liberalisme dan Tamadun Melayu: Pembacaan dari perspektif Future Studies" - November 2008, di DBP, KL. (Rujuk buku Pemikiran dan Perancangan Seni-Budaya).

Namun, saya selalu menekankan faktor bahawa kita kehilangan kesedaran budaya, khasnya di kalangan pentadbir dan pimpinan politik. Pada masa yang sama budayawan dan intelektual kita pula menunjukkan sikap mengalah dan berserah kepada orang politik dan bisnes untuk menguasai dan menentukan corak dan cara hidup masyarakat yang baru (liberal) itu.

Minggu lalu, Azmi Ab Hamid selaku Presiden Teras Pengupayaan Melayu (Teras) membangkitkan lagi soal Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan ini. Katanya:"Kami melihat kerajaan tidak lagi menghiraukan tanggungjawabnya untuk memastikan Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan diterjemahkan dalam semua acara yang dilaksanakan."

Katanya lagi: "Banyak acara yang dilulus dan disertakan juga dalam program rasmi kerajaan, bercanggah dengan dasar tersebut. Dalam acara nasional seperti sambutan kemerdekaan, tahun baru, hari belia dan pelbagai sambutan rasmi, kerajaan nampaknya sangat liberal ketika menapis persembahan yang sepatutnya dibenarkan untuk tontonan awam.

"Gara-gara mahu melayan apa yang disebut 'selera anak muda', kerajaan sendiri meluluskan persembahan kebudayaan yang sarat dengan ciri-ciri bercanggah dengan semua unsur yang ditekankan dalam Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan tersebut. Inilah yang berlaku pada sambutan Hari Belia lalu."

Azmi yang popular dengan panggilan Cikgu Azmi, menimbulkan perkara ini sempena perhimpunan agung Umno yang baru berlangsung. Di awal kenyataan medianya, beliau berkata:"Teras Pengupayaan Melayu (Teras) menarik perhatian bahawa perhimpunan parti orang Melayu untuk menyuarakan nasib bangsa dalam keadaan jatidiri serta kebudayaan yang semakin musnah di bawah parti yang mendakwa membela bangsa itu sendiri, adalah perbuatan sia-sia."

Katanya:"Kami sangat kesal, nampaknya persoalan akhlak dan budaya orang Melayu yang terhakis akibat sikap kerajaan yang sangat liberal tidak menjadi perbahasan yang penting di kalangan mereka yang mendabik dada memperjuangkan Melayu."

Memang! Hal budaya dan akhlak Melayu yang sedang terhakis itu tidak lagi menjadi perbahasan dalam persidangan parti Melayu yang mendakwa memperjuangkan Melayu itu. Memang! Sebab apa? Sebab mereka sudah menganggapnya tidak penting dan tidak relevan lagi dengan perjuangan mereka hari ini.

Apa yang penting bagi mereka ialah ekonomi dan kekayaan material. Itulah perjuangan parti Melayu itu hari ini. Mereka akan buat apa saja kalau itu boleh menguntungkan mereka dan boleh menambahkan kekayaan material mereka. Soal budaya dan akhlak Melayu sudah tidak relevan, sebab ia memang tidak boleh menambahkan kekayaan dan meningkatkan taraf ekonomi mereka.

40 tahun dahulu memanglah, bahasa Melayu, budaya Melayu dan akhlak Melayu masih relevan dan dianggap penting. Ia menjadi agenda besar perjuangan parti Melayu itu. Bahasa Melayu diperjuangkan hingga berjaya mencapai taraf bahasa ilmu di pusat pengajian tinggi. Tetapi sedang ia diperjuangkan selanjutnya untuk menjadi bahasa undang-undang di mahkamah, pihak kuasawan politik Melayu mulai meragui kepentingan bahasa itu dan kemampuannya untuk menghadapi gelombang globalisasi.

Dengan rasional keraguan itulah maka dasar PPSMI dilaksanakan, tanpa peduli pada apa-apa pun lagi. Bahasa Melayu nak hilang pun biarlah ia hilang. Budaya Melayu nak hancur pun biarlah ia hancur. Warisan negara nak musnah pun biarlah ia musnah. Mereka yang di tampuk kuasa politik itu tidak nampak lagi pentingnya nilai daripada tamadun tinggi Melayu itu. Yang menjadi fokus utama mereka ialah kekayaan material.

Saya melihat September 1998 sebagai satu tarikh penting dalam sejarah pembinaan bangsa Malaysia moden. Apa pentingnya tarikh itu? Pentingnya ialah kerana pada tarikh itulah benteng akhlak dan nilai budaya Melayu-Islam dirobohkan oleh pihak berkuasa politik Melayu waktu itu, apabila mereka menyiarkan dan menyatakan secara terang di khalayak umum perkara aib yang sebelumnya tidak pernah dinyatakan demikian, disebabkan wujudnya nilai akhlak mulia Melayu-Islam.

Mulai tarikh September 1998 benteng itu dipecah dan diruntuhkan. Masyarakat Malaysia pasca-1998 tidak sama lagi dengan masyarakat Malaysia sebelum September 1998. Soal akhlak Melayu, budaya Melayu, warisan Melayu - semuanya tidak penting dan tidak relevan lagi. Biarlah musnah semuanya itu asalkan kuasa yang di tangan segelintir bangsawan Melayu yang sedang berkuasa pada waktu itu masih dapat dipertahankan mereka.

Dan "perjuangan" itu masih berlangsung dan masih diteruskan hingga ke hari ini. Perhimpunan agung Umno setiap tahun (kalau tidak ditangguhkan kerana kepentingan tertentu) menunjukkan buktinya. Tidak usahlah kita terkejut dengan apa-apa yang berlaku di situ. Kita mungkin menganggapnya 'perbuatan sia-sia', seperti yang ditegaskan Cikgu Azmi itu, tetapi 'sia-sia' itu mengikut penilaian kita sahaja. Dalam penilaian mereka ia tidak sia-sia.

Sebaliknya membincang atau membahaskan isu akhlak, bahasa Melayu dan Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan itulah yang mereka anggap sebagai 'perbuatan sia-sia'. Makanya mereka tidak membahaskan hal tersebut.

Sesungguhnya masyarakat kita sekarang dalam keadaan yang keliru dan mengelirukan. Ini hakikat yang sangat menyedihkan. Tetapi siapa peduli? Masing-masing dengan cita-cita dan kepentingan materialistik masing-masing. Hal nilai, akhlak dan budaya yang bukan materialistik - biarlah apa pun terjadi. Nak hancur, hancurlah. Nak pupus, pupuslah. Nak hilang, hilanglah.

Suatu hari nanti, kita jangan terkejut - akan ada seorang perwakilan dalam perhimpunan agung parti itu akan membangkitkan isu "definisi Melayu" dalam Perlembagaan Negara, kerana definisi itu pun sudah tidak relevan lagi. Anda tahu kenapa ia tidak relevan lagi? Anda fikir-fikirkanlah! Atau rujuklah pada Perlembagaan itu. – 18 Disember, 2013.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

A case for the teaching of Islam in English

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 03:01 PM PST

December 18, 2013

Abdar Rahman Koya is at the end of his thirties, and considers himself to have all the qualities of an ordinary Malaysian, a practising Muslim, and an incorrigible cynic.

The recent parade of ignorance about Islam and its history, beamed from the cushy sofas in the polished halls of Putrajaya, calls for a rethink of the way Islam is taught at our schools.

Such official ignorance on Islam as we have seen the past two weeks is not new in Malaysia. I have always blamed this state of affairs on the fact that Islam in Malaysia has been narrowly studied, defined, taught, practised, and of late, defended, all through a racial perspective to serve a communal purpose. But the bigger explanation to this lies in the fact that our Islamic discourse has been limited by our dependence on Malay sources on the subject.

Don't get me wrong. I am a great proponent of the Malay language as a national medium. Which is why I have never been really convinced by arguments in support of the Teaching of Science and Mathematics in English, or PPSMI, but that is another matter.

But I am all for English to be used in subjects such as history and geography, and Islam, not only because these subjects force students to expand their vocabulary and think in English in order to explain and analyse. In the case of Islamic studies, many of the major sources of Islam are available in English, rather than in Malay.

The media debate on Shia Islam only underscores the need to teach Islam in English. The media's coverage on the issue reveals a Malayised understanding of Islam, even subscribing to a very localised system of orthography (or spelling) for Islamic-Arabic terminology. The English dailies' coverage on Islam, for example, uses Malay Roman spellings such as "Syiah", "syariah", "doa", "akidah" - a tell-tale sign that our traditional media workers are still hostage to the official interpretation of Islam as understood by our salaried bureaucrats.

This situation is further compounded by our closed door policy on Islamic scholarship, made worse by the existence of well-funded government institutions which want to take over God's role of protecting Islam till Judgement Day, as if to ensure Malaysian Muslims would crowd God's heaven.

There are more books on Islam, whether classical or contemporary, written in English by English-speaking scholars, Muslim and non-Muslim. The size of English Islamic scholarship is simply immense, and this is made possible by the fact that English is now considered a major language of Islam, even replacing Arabic.

It is unfortunate that many Malaysians' exposure to English works on Islam only borders on the so-called controversial books by hitherto unknown writers. So we see ourselves always kicking up a fuss about people like Irshad Manji or even that third-rate scholar Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

The fact is that the English Islamic publication industry has been thriving since the end of World War 2, with many quality original English works on Islam coming out from Western capitals, especially London.

The serious Muslim reader of English has been exposed to a plethora of interpretations, schools of thoughts and backgrounds on the subject of Islam, which are not necessarily controversial. Some of the greatest works on Islam are available in English, including those by al-Tabari, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Khaldun and al-Ghazali, all of which have complete translations in English long before the summarised Malay versions appeared.

Then we have works of some of the greatest Muslim scholars of the 20th century, representing different schools of thought, such as Abul Ala Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, Ali Shariati, Muhammad Asad, Gai Eaton, Yusuf Qaradawi, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Muhammad Hamidullah, Martin Lings and Tariq Ramadan, who are household names to the serious Muslim reader.

Then again, how many of us have really read the works by Ayatollah Khomeini? His extensive work on Hadith is enlightening, a far cry from those superficial interpretations we have grown used to. Which is why I found it funny when not long ago PAS's ulama scrambled to deny they were Khomeini's admirers, out of a fear of being branded Shias. Funny because it shows none of them have read his works, no thanks perhaps to the fact that they are not available in Malay other than his writings on the Iranian revolution. The naked truth is that none of the Home Ministry officials and religious bureaucrats now busy trumpeting their Sunni faith could come even close to where the sun doesn't shine on Khomeini, no matter what biases one may have about him.

It is interesting that the spectrum of English Islamic scholarship is not limited to prayer and marriage, the latter for some reason a favourite topic of our PhD-titled Islamic preachers whose names occasionally appear on glossy manuals on Islamic rituals they call "books". The Malaysian source of Islam is limited, indeed suffers from, Malay-language titles, which for some reason have not grown out of their capsules.

Even today, our bookshops are flooded by Islamic books that still talk about how to wash this or that part of the body, or the merits of fasting, or the responsibility of a good Muslim wife or husband. Some even reinforce myths and ignorance – the number of books written by unknown Ustads on Shia Islam being an excellent example of this.

More recently, publishing houses awash with petrol money from Gulf countries have littered our shores with their brand of true Islam, namely, an aversion to any attempt at explaining Islam in rational and intellectual terms, characterised by an omission of scholars who do not share their simplistic puritan Islam. Their books have nothing new to offer, either, to those seeking to increase their knowledge of the world's fastest growing religion.

A case in point is books dealing with the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Most are mechanical manuals on Hajj, rather than providing philosophical and ideological explanations about this largest annual gathering of humans around a black stone. In the end, our Malaysian pilgrims come back from Hajj or Umrah without knowing the true meaning of their journey, as brilliantly explained by the late Iranian scholar Shariati in his masterpiece, The Hajj. It is no surprise, then, that we see rich Muslims treating the Kaabah as their confession booth or their Ganges River, spending tens of thousands of ringgit every year for a trip or two, or three, or four, to Mecca.

Some argue that Arabic, being the language of the Qur'an, is the correct medium to teach Islam. It is true Arabic too boasts of a rich corpus of contemporary writings, but there is an absence of an Arabic book industry here such as those in the book capitals of Lebanon and Egypt - coupled with the unfortunate lack of interest in serious and contemporary subjects among our local Arabic-educated scholars who graduated from the Middle East.

It is only practical that English sources become the basis of our studies in Islam. This should begin from school, and not introduced at the university level where students are more interested in a paper chase than knowledge.

After all, what better way to understand the world's fastest growing religion than through the world's most widely used language? Ignoring this reality may condemn us back to the cushy sofas of Putrajaya. - December 18, 2013.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 18 Disember 2013